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Killdeer
Charadrius vociferous

Shorebirds
Plover Family (Charadriidae)

Size: Length: 23-28 cm Wingspan: 48-53 cm

Description: This exceedingly common plover is a common resident around most marshes and wetlands. It is easily identified by a pair of black rings across the white breast. The back and upper tail are brown, while the underside is white. The upper tail coverts are rust coloured. The legs are reddish-yellow. The head is brown with a prominent white eyebrow streak. The throat, neck and nape are white. The eye is red and the beak black. The call is also distinctive. It is a shrill, high-pitched "kill-dee" repeated approximately once per second. They make a high pitched trilling call when startled. The nest is on the ground, often with little or no vegetation. When approached, the adults will pretend to have a broken wing. This highly effective ploy is used to draw predators away from the nest. They feed on aquatic insects, scurrying about the marsh and poking their beak repeatedly into the water to snatch their prey.

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